Office of Teaching Initiatives

Professional Certification - Education Requirement

Candidates can satisfy the education requirement for a Professional classroom teaching certificate in one of three ways:

1. Complete a master’s or higher degree program that leads to educator certification in New York State or another jurisdiction.
   • In making their decision to enroll in a program for the purpose of meeting this requirement, candidates must ensure that the program leads to educator certification in the jurisdiction where the program is offered. Otherwise, the degree cannot be accepted for this purpose.
   • Master’s degree programs would lead to teacher, administrator (e.g., school building leader, school district leader, school district business leader), or pupil personnel services (e.g., school counselor, school psychology, school social work) certification.
   • You can research master’s degree programs authorized by the NYS Board of Regents - that lead to educator certification - here: Inventory of Registered Programs
   • You can research accredited institutions of higher education here: Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs
   
   
2. Complete a master’s or higher degree program in the content area of the Initial certificate or in a related content area.
   • A master’s degree or higher in any of the areas below in considered to be a “related area” for ALL certificate titles:
     • Special Education (Teaching Students With Disabilities)
     • Curriculum and Instruction
     • Educational Technology
     • Literacy
     • Bilingual Education
     • Teaching English as a Second Language
   • The following link includes additional helpful information in determining what counts as a related master’s or higher degree: Chart of Related Master's Degrees
   
   
3. Complete a master’s or higher degree program in any field AND 12 semester hours of graduate study in the content core of the Initial certificate or in a related content area.
   
   
   • Graduate coursework in the content area of the certificate
     Acceptable coursework includes courses offered by a college department in the same subject area of the Initial certificate (e.g., Mathematics Department for mathematics courses). Courses that are not offered in a college department in the subject area will be considered at the time of the evaluation. Coursework must be completed at an institution of higher education that is accredited by an institutional accrediting agency recognized for this purpose by the United States Department of Education.
   
   
   • Graduate coursework in content-linking pedagogy Content-linking pedagogy refers to coursework focused on the methods of teaching content in the subject area of the certificate sought. For example, a secondary Biology teacher could take courses in advanced curriculum development specific to teaching Biology. Content-linking pedagogy courses and/or content courses in the subject area of the Initial certificate can meet the 12-semester hour requirement for Professional certification. For example, the candidate who holds an Initial Biology (Grades 7-12) certificate could complete 6 semester hours of graduate-level Biology coursework and 6 semester hours of graduate-level content-linking pedagogy (teaching methods) courses focused on Biology to satisfy the Graduate Coursework Content Core requirement.
   All content-linking pedagogical coursework must be completed at an institution of higher education that has an educator preparation program and is accredited by an institutional accrediting agency recognized for this purpose by the United States Department of Education in the state where the institution is physically located.

   Regardless of which option a candidate selects, the master's degree or higher program completed by the candidate must be offered by an institution of higher education that is accredited by an institutional accrediting agency recognized for this purpose by the United State Department of Education or authorized by the Board of Regents to confer degrees.